Walk With Me

When Hubby Tony and I signed up in July to walk a 10k event in September, it seemed like a long way away. Now it's almost here.

Our "training" plan was to increase our walking distance each month until we were routinely covering six miles at a time. We stuck to that plan through August (when we managed to walk five miles on a regular basis), but plateaued there. The biggest issue was the lack of time; it takes a lot of it to walk six miles, and with the days getting shorter there wasn't enough daylight after dinner. I've settled for walking briskly for an hour at a time; I hope that will get me in good enough shape that the extra mileage will take care of itself.

Today I didn't have to be at work until 12:30, and it looked like a great day for a walk.  Instead of the blistering heat we had all summer, I woke up to a brisk almost-fall morning.  With the shift in temperature I wasn't sure what to wear, but it turns out a pair of capris and a tee (covered by a sweatshirt, which came off halfway through the walk) and walking shoes were just right.

My first stop was the hardware store, where I needed to have a key made.  At the store I parked my car at the far edge of the lot, close to the street. It took longer to walk to the key-making department than it did to have the key made, and I was quickly on my way. I stopped at my car to drop off my purse and pick up my mp3 player, then walked to a nearby gas station and used the restroom before I started my trek.

I started down a major residential street that ran perpendicular from Manchester Road (a state highway). I turned right at the first subdivision, and as I walked I stayed to the right whenever possible.  Every couple of months I drive down the major street, but I've never paid attention to the details as I passed by at 30 mph. It's amazing what you can see when you're on foot. The neighborhoods looked like they'd been around since the 1950s. With a couple of exceptions, they were filled with small bungalows and long ranches, all on large lots with mature landscaping and big trees.

While I walked I listened to last week’s podcast of This American Life. Soon I was caught up in the story, and the blocks passed by. I turned onto another major residential street, and meandered my way up and down the streets off of it. When I reached Manchester again, rather than walk along the road I cut through the strip mall parking lots until I arrived back at my car. I was pleasantly sweaty and could tell I’d exercised, but unlike a couple of weeks ago I wasn’t a puddle of sweat.

The weather is supposed to be nice for the foreseeable future.  I wonder how many more walks I'll be able to get in before the big event?